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Are There Free Death Records?
Death records can provide us with a plethora of useful information for genealogy purposes, and they may prove to be useful when dealing with estates, wills and inheritances.
There are many websites that claim to offer free death records and other vital records, but these websites are often riddled with related fees and expenses – many of which aren’t initially disclosed by the company.
Look for Hidden Fees
For example, a website that offers free death records may perform a small, initial search that locates the individual in question (this simplified search is easy to complete). Then, once the deceased individual is located, the website then takes you to a new website that asks you to pay for the service of finding a death record. Often times, these misleading websites charge more than other death records websites.
The bottom line is that all state and local vital records offices around the country charge a fee for a death record request. This fee generally covers the administrative costs of searching for and printing death records. Therefore, a website cannot offer a free search for a death record when the vital records office from where they are obtaining the information is charging a fee for the service.
Beware of Inaccurate Information
If a website claims to offer free death records, it may very well provide you with misleading or inaccurate information on the person on which you are requesting the death record. For most individuals that rely on an accurate death record for genealogy or simply personal reasons, an inaccurate death record is completely useless.
How to Facilitate your Search
Your genealogy search has never been easier using the power of the Internet. Websites such as Archives.com are there to make the searching process easier, saving you time and effort. The excitement of the Internet and the many conveniences that come along with it have empowered many individuals to find loved ones and ancestors – all with the click of a button.
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